This invention is directed to cleaning shellfish, and in particular, the class of shellfish known as mollusks. Shellfish have a shell, the usual organs such as digestive system and circulatory system, and some means of travel. Clams, for example, have a single propelling foot, whereas scallops use an adductor muscle to open and close their shell halves for propulsion. Mollusks, such as claims and scallops are the subject of this invention. Both clams and scallops have a soft mass, called viscera, surrounding the organs and muscle tissue. It has been found the viscera which resembles a heavy viscous fluid is somewhat easier removed from clams than it is from scallops. Therefore, while the invention is for cleaning all types of shellfish, it is particularly suited for cleaning scallops.
At present, the known methods for cleaning shellfish is either by scrubbing with water or the user of a vacuum to remove unwanted matter. Since scrubbing is both time consuming and costly it is not practical to do on a commercial scale. Likewise, the cost of vacuum equipment and the needed conveyors may be too expensive. The following mollusk cleaning apparatuses use a vacuum cleaning system, and are therefore of general interest:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,460,192 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,864,788
The prior art is devoid of references on cleaning fish and shellfish, in particular, employing methods or apparatuses similar to the present invention. The closest known references related to the cleaning action of the invention relates to shaking apparatus for sifting or sorting articles such as sand and gravel. There may also be references on polishing machines that may be of interest to the state-of-the art; however such references, including those on shaking apparatuses would only be of general interest and would not teach or suggest the invention.